Legislative Recap – 2025
Republican Wins & Democrat Hold-Outs
We have finally arrived in early summer! Although the official legislative session ended on May 19th, a significant amount of unfinished business remains to be accomplished.
This is in large part due to the fact that the House Democrats boycotted the first twenty-three days of session. It is also due to the fact that some members of the Democrat Caucus are holding up progress on bills, even though Democrat leadership and Republican leadership have already worked out bipartisan agreements on them.
There are nine remaining bills to be voted on by the Legislature. It is up to Governor Walz to call a special session in order to deal with this unfinished business, but he will not call it until both parties have reached agreements on these bills. The legislature has until July 1st to deal with these remaining bills, or there will be at least a partial government shut down.
It is important for us as constituents to realize that this session the House has been functioning under a 67 – 67 tie, while the Senate has remained under a 34-32 Democrat control.
This means that EVERY bill that passes through the Legislature MUST have bipartisan support.
So we are not going to see bills that take sweeping action to undo the things passed under the Democrat Trifecta, yet in every bill that passes, we will see many small victories -- areas where Republicans have held the line on issues, areas where they blocked further harm, and also areas where they have been able to reduce spending.
It’s kind of like watching a soccer game in which your team doesn’t have as much scoring strength, but they do a killer job on defense. There may not be that many offensive goals scored, but you still must notice and appreciate every turnover of control and goal that is blocked as a win.
Here are some WINS in which Republicans have held the line:
1. First of all, they secured the Speaker of the House position for Republican Lisa Demuth for the full biennium, ’25 & ’26.
2. Second of all, they established a new State Fraud Committee with Republican leadership for both ’25 & ’26.
3. They have held the line on NO new TAXES!
4. They have held the line on NO tax-funded health care for adult illegal immigrants.
5. They have held the line on Education Freedom — retaining Non-Public Pupil Aid and blocking restrictions on Homeschoolers.
6. They have held the line on Medical Freedom by blocking a bill mandating the MMR shot for all school-aged children.
7. They put forth a strong initiative to pass a bill to protect girls in sports by prohibiting biological males on girls’ teams. Despite this, not even one of their Democrat colleagues stood with them.
This is only a brief, highlighted list of initiatives that I am aware of. I am certain that there are many, many more. Once the special session is completed, I will watch for summaries of wins from our Legislators and post a more comprehensive list.
Democrats Champion Illegal-Immigrants Above Minnesotan Citizens
In the meantime, while Republicans have held the line on these issues and more, the Democrats have drawn a line in the sand on protecting free health care and tax-payer benefits for illegal immigrants. When Governor Walz held a join press conference with Republican Lisa Demuth and Democrat Melissa Hortman to announce their bipartisan bill agreements, Democrat legislators could be heard outside the room yelling and literally banging on the door. You can watch a video of the vitriol they faced outside the room HERE.
Democrats are holding out on supporting the very budget agreement that they helped to negotiate, as well as a bipartisan fraud prevention bill, because of their demand for $600 million taxpayer funded health care for illegal immigrants.
It is time for every Minnesotan to realize that the Democrat legislators are not fighting for you!
Unfortunately, they are leveraging the position that the citizens of Minnesota elected them to NOT to fight for their constituents, but instead to prioritize the interests of those who have come to our state illegally.
Celebrate the Small Victories
In this tied yet deeply divided environment, it is critical for us to appreciate the myriad of smaller victories, areas where Republicans have blocked harmful legislation, clawed back spending, and added in common sense bipartisan measures. each one steadily moving us forward in the right direction. Thus, I encourage us all to:
1. Zoom Out – Take a step back and be grateful that the Democrat Trifecta was BLOCKED by the 67-67 House tie!
2. Zoom In – Look for and celebrate the small victories – every place in these bills where the Republicans were able to block harmful initiatives, claw back spending, and add in common sense measures.
3. Seek first to understand -- If you notice something concerning that your Representative or Senator voted on, call them to learn vital context behind the bill and why they supported it.
4. Avoid Divisiveness – Since every bill that passes will have some Democrat initiatives in it, it will be easy for some to cherry pick negative items and attack Republicans for voting in favor of it. This is narrow sighted negativity that erodes overall community support for the Republican effort in our legislature. If we want to see dramatic change in Minnesota, we must unite to win!
5. Be grateful! We all should be profoundly grateful for the hard work House Republicans have done to stand strong and hold-the-line in a tenuous tied situation, as well as to our Senate Republicans for standing for our conservative values while remaining in the minority under a 34-32 balance of power.
6. Continue to PRAY for your legislators and send them a handwritten card, thanking them for their hard work and letting them know they are in your prayers.
7. Have HOPE & VOTE! Although many might despair about the state of things in Minnesota, quite a number of seats in the Legislature were won or lost by merely 10’s or 100’s of votes. If every concerned conservative recruits another conservative to turn out and VOTE in 2026, we will achieve a solid majority in the House and Senate, plus even win State offices like the GOVERNOR’s SEAT!
The reality is if we want to see significant change in the governing of our State, we must:
UNITE to WIN!
One opportunity to unite as people of faith is happening this Saturday on the lawn of the State Capitol! — MERGE Twin Cities — The Great Minnesotan Church Get-Together! Click on this link for more info. Spread the word to Christians in your church and community. Fill up your car and come join us! Click HERE to see my recent post on this event.
